Abstract: 

Project managers know how to build project plans. Yet despite rigorous planning, structured methodologies, and disciplined execution, research continues to show that a significant percentage of organizational change initiatives fail to achieve their intended outcomes.

The problem is rarely the project plan. It’s the human side of change, such stakeholder resistance, competing priorities, leadership misalignment, communication breakdowns, and underestimated behavioral risk can derail even the most well-managed projects.

In this session, Wani Iris Manly, Esq. introduces a practical framework for identifying and addressing the human factors that determine whether change succeeds or stalls.

Participants will learn:

• Why well-planned projects stall despite strong execution frameworks

• The hidden human resistance patterns that derail initiatives

• How to strengthen stakeholder alignment and buy-in early

• Practical strategies for leading teams through uncertainty without burnout that improves adoption, engagement, and long-term project outcomes

• Risk mitigation from both operational and behavioral perspectives

The program is designed to provide both conceptual insight and actionable tools that project leaders can immediately apply within their organizations.

Bio

Wani Iris Manly, Esq. is a TEDx and international keynote speaker on change, attorney, trainer, and former Fortune 500 in-house counsel based in Paris, France. With more than 22 years of experience at the intersection of law, business, leadership, and organizational change, she has advised executives through mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, rapid growth, and complex organizational change.

She has served in-house and advisory roles with global organizations including Mastercard, Visa, and Office Depot, as well as securities counsel to publicly traded companies, helping leadership teams navigate risk, align stakeholders, and lead through periods of significant change.

Today, Wani speaks internationally on change, leadership, and organizational change through her signature Changing Changes Everything® framework, equipping organizations with practical strategies to reduce resistance, strengthen stakeholder alignment, and lead change with greater confidence, clarity, and measurable impact.

She is the founder of the Paris-based speaking and consulting firm House of Inspirational Business, EURL; the founder of W. Manly, P.A., a boutique intellectual property and business law firm; and the founder of Where Inspiration Meets Law, LLC, an online legal platform providing attorney-drafted legal templates, legal resources, and education to entrepreneurs and ecommerce businesses seeking to protect their brands and intellectual property. She is also the bestselling author of Get Out of Survival Mode and Live the Life You Really Want.

Her core message is simple: Changing Changes Everything®, and the sky is not even the limit, but the viewpoint.

More information is available about Wani on her website at www.wanimanly.com.

Meeting Details:

Pre-registration Expires:  Day of event @10A CST. Registration is capped at 100 attendees.

Cancellation Policy: Event will be cancelled if we do not have a minimum of (6) or for other reasons out of our control. All attempts will be made to re-schedule it.

PDUs: 1 (Business Acumen)

Note:  Registrants will receive an MS Teams link via the confirmation email after registration.  Those using employer issued machines at home and connecting VPN may need to use phone for audio and a Smart device (table, PC or Smartphone) to view slides and video.  To increase engagement on an online event, we sincerely encourage you to enable your camera.  Use a Smartphone if your PC or MacBook does not have a camera.  

Substitution Policy: 

Substitutions will be allowed. Alternate Attendee will need to notify us who they are replacing. Contact [email protected] for any cancellations or Substitutions.

Video/Photo Release:

With the permission of our speaker/presenter, the Chapter reserves the right to record and share this session on its official platforms (e.g., YouTube Channel) in full or in part within 4–8 weeks after the event. By registering/attending this event, I understand the PMI Central Illinois Chapter or its representatives may take video/photographs of attendees at the above-identified event. I agree that the PMI Central Illinois Chapter may use such video/photographs of me with or without my name and for any lawful purpose, including, for example, such purposes as publicity, illustration, advertising, and Web content. (Note: "If I do not wish to be photographed, I understand it is my responsibility to notify chapter representatives at the event.")

Questions?

For technical registration questions, email [email protected].

For any other questions, email [email protected] and/or [email protected].

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